Japan 2-0 Scotland
Pressure mounts for Burley
Also In The News
|
By Adam Leveridge. |  |
Saturday, 10, Oct 2009 02:27
By Darren Estwick.
A depleted Scottish side deservedly crashed to a 2-0 away defeat to Japan in their friendly match in Yokohama.
In a match which saw the Scots camped inside their own half for the majority of the game, an own goal by Christophe Berra and an injury time goal by Keisuke Honda handed the home side a comprehensive victory.
Scotland started the match with several changes following the withdrawal of ten players from the squad throughout the week. Debuts were handed to defender Lee Wallace and midfielders Graham Dorrans, Ross Wallace and Craig Conway in a very experimental line up.
And it showed with Japan starting quickly playing with ease and vigour. The home side's exuberance made up for a lack of quality in the final third resulting in few clear cut opportunities.
For all of Japan's endeavours the Scottish backline dealt with the pressure well through a combination of good defending or sound goalkeeping by Craig Gordon.
Honda had a speculative effort from 35 yards which was saved well by the Sunderland man, whilst Nakamura had several sightings of goal without really making the most of them.
Scotland created their first chance an hour into the game when Charlie Adam produced a snap shot which took a deflection and hit the side netting.
It was left to the last four minutes before anyone made an impression on the score line when a cross by Yuichi Komano caused enough confusion within the Scotland ranks for Berra to divert into his own net.
Reeling from the late setback Scotland conceded more ground resulting in a loose ball falling to the feet of Honda deep in the penalty area and managed to hold his nerve and ensure that Japan's dominance on the field was reflected in the final score line.